Where's Waldo? Not in S.F. City Hall

By Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross, Chronicle Columnists

Published
4:00 am PST, Wednesday, January 28, 2009

WASHINGTON - JANUARY 19: San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom attends the Post Pre-Inaugural Ball hosted by The Huffington Post and MySpace at The Newseum on January 19, 2009 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Joe Kohen/Getty Images) less

WASHINGTON - JANUARY 19: San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom attends the Post Pre-Inaugural Ball hosted by The Huffington Post and MySpace at The Newseum on January 19, 2009 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Joe ... more

Photo: Joe Kohen, Getty Images

Photo: Joe Kohen, Getty Images

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WASHINGTON - JANUARY 19: San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom attends the Post Pre-Inaugural Ball hosted by The Huffington Post and MySpace at The Newseum on January 19, 2009 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Joe Kohen/Getty Images) less

WASHINGTON - JANUARY 19: San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom attends the Post Pre-Inaugural Ball hosted by The Huffington Post and MySpace at The Newseum on January 19, 2009 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Joe ... more

Photo: Joe Kohen, Getty Images

Where's Waldo? Not in S.F. City Hall

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Bono won't be there this year, and neither will Brad Pittor Angelina Jolie.

Newsom is expected to touch down in the Alps today with wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom- following a four-day visit to Paris. It's a jaunt mostly paid for with private money, but it's also a sign that the mayor is very much looking to his profile for the next campaign - the one for governor next year.

Davos is just the latest trip for Newsom, who has been very much on the move as of late.

In all, San Francisco's mayor has been out of the state for 23 of the last 60 days. And some of the time he's been in California, he's been outside the city - introducing himself to voters in far-flung locales.

The mayoral trips have included:

-- A family vacation to Hawaii's Big Island over the Christmas holidays.

-- Five days in Washington this month for President Obama'sinauguration and all the parties that went with it - a stopover that also included his attendance at the U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting.

-- Two campaign trips down to Los Angeles

-- The four days in Paris.

And now, Davos.

"The mayor gets to interact with some of the world's leading minds in economics and global politics," said mayoral spokesman Joe Arellano. "It's where the mayor picks up many of his innovative ideas."

Newsom is also hosting a number of town hall meetings around the Bay Area to raise money and support for his gubernatorial campaign, events that his aides say are held during off-hours.

"We keep the campaigning hours to early in the morning, nights and weekends," said Newsom campaign manager Eric Jaye, adding, "He is always available and always the mayor.'

As for the cost to taxpayers?

The combo inaugural fest and mayors' conference trip to D.C., on which two staffers accompanied Newsom, was paid for by the city. The bills for that trip are still coming in.

The Paris and Davos stopovers are being fronted by the Sister City Committee out of privately raised funds.

But the police officer accompanying Newsom to Paris and D.C for security is on the public's dime, although the total is never revealed for security reasons.

Newsom also gets a police escort and a driver from the SFPD for his campaign outings around the bay.

All this at a when Police Chief Heather Fongis cutting overtime for homicide investigations.

Holding fire:He's got a new high-powered lawyer and a new shot at making bail - so now, we might get an explanation of what former BART police Officer Johannes Mehserlewas thinking when he fatally shot Oscar Grant.

New attorney Michael Rains, who has an extensive history defending cops, says Mehserle didn't co-operate with investigators on the advice of his former lawyer after the officer shot the unarmed Grant on an Oakland train platform early New Year's Day.

Mehserle's silence, coupled with a charged racial atmosphere, political pressure and the nonstop video replay of the shooting on TV news, left Alameda County District Attorney Tom Orlofflittle choice but to charge Mehserle with murder.

Now it's up to Rains to now offer enough evidence at Friday's bail hearing to persuade a judge to give Mehserle a chance to get out of Santa Rita Jail.

Rains is playing it coy as to what he might say. But from what we can tell by asking around, the defense's most likely strategy will be to assert that Mehserle thought he was pulling out his Taser - and not his service weapon - when he shot Grant.

Mayoral morass: Oakland Police Chief WayneTucker may have taken the hit, but Mayor Ron Dellumswas very much a target as well when City Council members publicly called for the top cop to step down.

"We didn't do it lightly; we knew it would be a very strong statement," council President Jane Brunner said.

For months, Brunner and council members Patricia KernighanLarry Reid and Desley Brooks had been on a slow boil over both problems within the Police Department and with the mayor's refusal to act when it came to big issues in general.

Dellums' waffling was a key reason former City Manager Robert Bobbopted for a job in Detroit rather than return to Oakland as city administrator.

Bobb, who was in charge of coming up with candidates for the administrator's post, quickly emerged himself as the lead contender - but then, weeks passed without a firm offer from Dellums.

And when Bobb got an offer from Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholmto head the Detroit schools' fiscal turnaround effort, he took it.

Now, Dellums plans to fill the administrator's post with long-time aide Dan Lindheim- who has been temporarily filling the seat since the mayor fired Deborah Edgerlyin July.

Bobb still intends to move back to the Bay Area within a matter of months - which is certain to fuel speculation that he might be returning to run for mayor in 2010.

"I'm not saying what I'm going to do," Bobb said.

Heads up: For all their hand-wringing over the Oakland Police Department's latest embarrassment - an FBI probe into the alleged April 2000 beating of a suspect by Capt. Ed Poulson, who now heads the department's internal affairs division - City Council members shouldn't have been entirely surprised.

In January 2005, they received a confidential memo from City Attorney John Russodescribing some of the problems surrounding the internal investigation of Poulson and others. But Tuesday, none of the council members who were on the board at the time - and who supported Tuesday's resignation of Police Chief Wayne Tucker- recalled getting the five-page document.

"None of us can recall being briefed," said Councilman Larry Reid.

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